Sample Slab Update Newsletter

Sample Slab Update #3 - May 2015

Sample Slab Article is The Numismatist Cover Story

My article, "Collecting Sample Slabs/' is the cover story in the current (May 2015) issue of The Numismatist. As the
journal of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), The Numismatist is the top coin periodical. This article
helps advance and legitimize our branch of collecting.

Hopefully, you are already a member of the ANA and read The Numismatist through a print subscription or at
money.org. If you are not a member, it pays to belong and is well worth the $28 for a basic membership. The key
benefits include reading The Numismatist, borrowing books by mail from the ANA's library, and submitting coins
directly to NGC

Market Notes - Medium Term Trends

I have been tracking eBay completed sales since July 2013, or approaching two years. What trends have I seen in
the sample market in that period?

1. Lower prices for common slabs. This could be a sign of increasing maturity of the market. The PCGS circulated
1921 Morgans, for example, are desirable but common and the average price has dropped from around $70 to
about $50.

2. Increase of ANACS samples made for collectors. Usually with show or club pedigrees, these appear with
increasing frequency. Most attract considerable interest, especially when a new variety appears.

3. Chinese coin shows. In addition to US shows, slabs made for shows in Macau and Hong Kong are now
regularly on eBay. They come from both Asian certifiers such as CMC and from the US-based Big Two.

What market trends have you seen?

News - Book Project

The basic catalog is now complete and holds 578 records for 32 grading services. Although the number of types
may grow slightly and extensive proofreading will be necessary to make the catalog ready for publication,
information for all varieties is now complete except for photos. The catalog is in a Microsoft Access database,
which will help organization and reporting as I turn the catalog into a book.

That is, I have done everything I need for my own research and now can make this work into a product useful for
everyone.

Buy and Sell

If you would like to include a buy or sell offer in the next Sample Slab Update, please email it to me. Include an
email address or other contact information so sellers or buyers can reach you. On the buy side, I am interested in
samples from obscure graders such as AHCGS, Accugrade/ACG, Compugrade, Global, TruGrade, or others.

As always, please forward this newsletter to anyone interested. I welcome your comments and contributions.

Sample Slab Update #3- May 2015 (sent 4/28/15). By David Schwager, Fountain Valley, California.
davidschwager@hotmail.com . Please email me to be added to or removed from the mailing list. Comments and submissions
are welcome.